Following stringent cleaning protocols is vital to overall laboratory safety, so it's essential to have the right cleaning lab equipment and procedures in place. To help you ensure a tidy work environment, you can develop a lab cleaning checklist covering key areas that require sanitation after each use.

Lab Cleaning Checklist

As you manage cleaning requirements, you can implement some best practices to maintain a clean work environment.

1) Schedule Regular Cleaning Times

Managing day-to-day lab work requirements can be complex, and regular cleanings may take a back burner if they're not scheduled. To maintain a consistent cleaning schedule and protect samples from contamination, schedule regular clean-up hours to keep the process organized. You may want to post a schedule to track these cleanings as well.

2) Throw Out Old Samples

To protect current samples from contamination, ensure you throw out spoiled reagents and degraded samples that can attract dust and germs. You can consult your lab books to determine how long they've been stored and when they need to be thrown out.

3) Use Proper Cleaning Equipment

Using the proper cleaning equipment is vital to effective cleaning for your sensitive laboratory instruments. After each use, most labware needs to be washed with detergent and warm water so residue can't build up inside. If you're working with insoluble organic solutions, you'll also need to rinse with acetone or ethanol to remove deposits that may have collected.

For cleaning surfaces, you'll likely want to use an ethanol or bleach spray to kill bacteria and fungus contamination.

Best practices for equipment cleaning include:

• Ultrasonic cleaners: Use ultrasonic cleaners to remove dirt from glassware. However, keep in mind that glassware containing flammable solutions is not safe for ultrasonic cleaning, as it can ignite from the energy buildup.
• Batch sterilization: You can effectively sterilize most lab glassware and lab consumables with steam autoclaving at high pressure and temperature. To remove chemical residue after sterilizing, you may need to follow additional cleaning procedures.
• Pipette cleaning: To safely clean pipettes, you can use either direct injection baskets or a plastic jug that siphons water. If needed, you may also dismantle and clean individual pieces of handheld pipettes.
• Dishwashers: For glassware and accessories including Petri dishes and test tubes, lab dishwashers can prevent cross-contamination and effectively clean in a high-temperature environment.

Why Having a Clean Lab Is Important to Lab Safety

Keeping your lab clean can offer several key advantages:

• More accurate results: When you ensure your lab is sanitary, you can prevent outside factors from disrupting measurement results.
• Improved organization: Maintaining a clean workspace can also help you keep items organized and easy to access.
• Decreased hazards: Labs can bring several environmental hazards, and the right cleaning protocol helps ensure dangerous chemicals and other substances are safely put away.
• Maintained compliance: By following lab cleaning protocol, you can ensure you're maintaining compliance across the facility.

Receive Laboratory Cleaning Equipment From Mercedes Scientific

At Mercedes Scientific, we offer resources and supplies for medical practices, laboratories and other settings that require sanitary environments. Browse our product inventory and contact us with any questions today.